This is like the first time I'm blogging man. Haha.. Don't really have a habit of keeping a journal. Had some trouble trying to find a way to create a new post man. Haha..
Anyway last Sunday's CE was on 1 Kings and 2 Kings. These two books are talking about how the Israelites had asked God for a king to rule over them. Over a period of about 400 years, God gave them kings, some of which are good and mostly are bad kings. These bad kings had caused the downfall of Israel amd Judah.
One such king is King Solomon. In his early days of reign, he was a God fearing man. He followed God's commandments and even built a temple for God. When God asked him what was the thing he wanted most, he replied he wanted nothing else but wisdom. It pleased God and God made him the most wisest man in the world.
However, over time, his heart started to sway away from God. When God commanded that he should not marry many wives, and keep excessive horses, silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17), King Solomon disobeyed. As a result, God promised to tear the kingdom away. However, God was merciful and he told him that he would fulfill His promiseafter Solomon's lifetime.
When Rehoboam, Solomon's son, took the throne, a civil war broke up and God's promise was carried up. Soon the nation of Israel was splitted into 2 nations, namely Israel and Judah. Over the years, many bad kings ruled over the nations, doing things that are not pleasing to God. These bad kings also caused their people to sin, enraging God's wrath. Soon, Israel was exiled to Assyria and Judah was exiled to Babylon.
Through the lesson last week, one thing i had learnt is that knowing what to do DOES NOT equal to doing what you know. King Solomon was the wisest man in the world and he definitely knows what is right and wrong. However, he choose to choose himself over God, not doing what he knows. Growing up in church, biblical knowledge has been "drilled" into us all these years. If there was a quiz on the bible, we probably could have done quite well. HOWEVER, has just become head knowledge for us. We are "wise", knowing what to do, but have we been doing what we know? Have we been "sharing in sufferring as a good soldier of Christ Jesus", having the discipline of an athlete who competes according to the rules or having the dedication of a hardworking farmer?
Maybe as the church camp is drawing close, we can start pondering on these questions. What is our destiny?
